Bret McKenzie: ‘I can’t wait to use the ‘Oscar card’ on my ‘Flight Of The Conchords’ co-star’

The New Zealander speaks out about his Academy Awards win for The Muppets song

Bret McKenzie, one half of comedy duo Flight Of The Conchords, has spoken about his Oscar win for Best Original Song.

McKenzie scored the gong at the Academy Awards ceremony last night (February 26) in Los Angeles, for his contribution to The Muppets, the song ‘Man or Muppet’. Speaking to Buzz Sugar, the New Zealander said he couldn’t wait to work with his Flight Of The Conchords co-star Jemaine Clement again, mainly so he could “pull out the Oscar card”. He said:

I’m looking forward to writing with Jemaine in the future again. Because I’ll be able to pull out the Oscar card and say “Mmm, I think we should use this chord . . .” and “I won an Oscar!”

McKenzie also spoke about the pressure that came with writing a song for a franchise as popular as The Muppets. He commented: “A friend of mine said, when I got the job of working on the film, “You’ll never write another ‘Rainbow Connection.'” [From 1979’s The Muppet Movie] And I said, “You’re right.” And I didn’t. ‘Rainbow Connection’ didn’t win an Oscar, but there’s no doubt that their song is an absolutely timeless classic, and this song is nothing in comparison.”

He also spoke about Muppets creator, the late Jim Henson, and the influence he has had on his work, saying: “In the ’80s, when I was at home a lot watching TV, my dad one day brought home a video recorder. No one else had one, so it was pretty exciting. But he only had two video cassettes, and one was The Dark Crystal.”

McKenzie said of the 1982 Jim Henson and Frank Oz production: “So my brother and I watched that movie at least twice a week for about five years. Definitely, Jim Henson influenced me. He’s a huge inspiration and the other thing I love about the guy is he made children’s films that I think he found funny. He was making them for adults. He didn’t patronise the minds of children.”